The Enemy Within (episode)
A transporter malfunction splits Captain Kirk into two people—one good and one evil, and neither capable of functionally well seperately. Summary Technician Fisher falls, gashing himself badly and smearing his jumpsuit with a strange magnetic ore. He beams to the ship for treatment. Detecting a curious overload in the circuitry, Scotty has Fisher decontaminate before reporting to sickbay, but the problems have already begun; the strange ore has altered the function of the transporter. Kirk beams up next, before the fault is discovered. He apparently materializes normally -- but is in fact, a shadow of himself. In what is probably the most bizarre transporter accident on record, Kirk is split into two beings. The first to materialize embodies all of Kirk's so-called positive qualities. Moments later, after everyone has left, Kirk's evil twin materializes. Some time passes before the mishap is discovered, during which the evil Kirk roams the ship, stealing liquor, assaulting crewmen, and even attempting to rape Yeoman Rand. Finally, he is cornered in the engine room, and captured -- but not before his errant phaser shot damages the transporter further. Kirk's good half considers abandoning his evil half. It is a hateful thing, and he does not like to acknowledge that it is part of him. But as he weakens, and begins to lose the ability to make decisions, he realizes that he needs it, that neither part of him can live without the other. Meanwhile, on the planet below, the remaining landing party is suffering through increasing cold. Attempts to beam heaters and other support devices produce only non functional duplicates. Finally, Scotty and Spock believe they have isolated and repaired all the damage. A test animal, previously split, is sent through to see if it will reintegrate. It does, but rematerializes dead. Crippled with indecision, Kirk must decide what to do. He is able, barely, to make the trip, and his two halves are re-integrated. Confident once again, he gives the order to beam up the landing party, saving them moments from freezing. Background Information * This was the first episode to show the Vulcan nerve pinch, as well as the first time McCoy says "He's dead, Jim." *For years the first several minutes of this show up to Fisher's fall were printed backwards. This has been corrected on the DVD releases. * Shatner's command insignia is missing from his uniform through the first ten minutes of the episode. * The showering phaser effect used when Sulu heats the rock is never used again. * Several nice jump cuts were put together to allow the Kirk double to pop into a scene. The scene of the double's bloody hand popping in just after the other Kirk has entered the turbo lift is very nicely done. Another jump cut in Engineering was spoiled by interspersing a shot of the double on top of one of the engine components, which rendered the clever edit unnecessary. * There are two split screens used as well: after Kirk's double is neck-pinched, and in sickbay, when he takes the hand of his counterpart. * You can recognize the back of Eddie Paskey's head as he stands in for the double when he knocks Kirk out in sickbay. * Although Nichelle Nichols does not appear in this episode, in a nice touch of continuity, her voice is heard on the intercom in several scenes. MISC. NOTES Links and References Main Cast * William Shatner as Kirk * Leonard Nimoy as Spock * DeForest Kelley as McCoy * James Doohan as Scott * George Takei as Sulu * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura * Grace Lee Whitney as Rand Guest Stars * Eddie Paskey as Leslie * Jim Goodwin as John Farrell * Ed Madden as Fisher * Garland Thompson as Wilson * Don Eitner as Kirk's stunt double * Unknown actor as Bobby * Unknown actor as James References Alfa 177; Ore; Synchronic meter; Saurian brandy; Transporter ionizer unit; Vulcan nerve pinch Enemy Within, Thede:Kirk : 2 = ?